RELATIONSHIP PRINCIPLES
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A n a p p roa c h t o ma kin g re la t ion s hips stro ng er a n d w orkflow bet t er.
Inspired by the GDS design principles.
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TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA [ FEAR OF THE NUMBER 13 ] IS A COMMON, IF USUALLY MILD PHOBIA IN THE US
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MCCANN FELT THAT IT WAS HIS LUCKY NUMBER.
CONTENTS
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EVERY MEETING IS A FIRST DATE. Just l ik e a ny firs t d a te , it’s t h e simp l e things tha t m a tte r.
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4 /5 /6 KNOW YOUR AUDI ENCE. TALK TO Y OU R C LIENT.
U N D E R S TA N D SPHERE OF INFLUENCE.
GE T O N TH E F R O NT FO O T.
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COMMIT TO DECISIONS. Do n’t write a brief you don’t bel ieve in.
Just l ik e a ny firs t d a te , it’s t h e simp l e things tha t m a tte r.
3 WORK WI T H Y OUR CL I E NT.
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MA N A GE EXPE C TAT I ON S.
No - one l ikes surprises
9 DELIVER. SURPRISE. D E L I G H T.
11 INVEST I N YO UR CL I ENT. This m eans understanding the m on two l evel s
E v er y o n e lik e s s urpris e s . . .
10 EM B RA CE CHA N G E . . . . y o u n eed to b e d is pos a b le w it h y our id e a s . . .
12 BE THERE FOR YOUR C L I E N T. At a b a s ic l evel , your cl ient ne e d s to know they can get hol d of you.
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MAKE Y OUR
C L IE N T H APPY
M a k ing your cl ient smil e is one o f the most important com po n ents of a successful rel ationship.
E V ERY M EETING I S A F IRST DAT E.
1 Just l ike a ny fir s t da te, it’s the simple t h i n gs tha t m a tter . A r r ive on time, be wel l pr epa r ed, a nd m a ke an ef fort w i t h you r per s ona l a ppea r a nc e. Think ab o u t how you inter a ct. S tr uc ture e ve ry s ingl e com m u nica tion properly an d fu l l y, a nd a void one-word re spons es in you r em a il s . A n d n o m a t t e r h o w i n f o r m a l the m eetin g, w he t h e r i t ’s f a c e - t o - f a c e o r rem o tely via p hon e , e m a i l o r w e b - c o n f e r e n c e, b e the o n e t ha t d o e s e v e r y t h i n g o n t i m e e a r ly . (It’ s b een s a i d t h e r e a r e t w o t y p e s o f peo ple in the w or l d: t h o s e w h o a r e s uc c e s s f ul, a n d tho se w ho a r e la t e . )
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GET ON THE FRONT FOOT.
Whe n yo u an t icipa te a nd pr ovide information wi t h o ut b e i n g a s ked, not onl y do you instill con f i d e n ce and tr u s t, you keep the proc ess mo v ing a t a good pa ce.
I t d o e s n ’ t t a k e mu c h to thi n k a hea d, but the m o r e p r o a ct ive y ou a re, the more respect y o u ’l l rec ei vei n retu rn.
3 W O RK W I TH YOUR C L IEN T. Wh e n you a n ti c i pa te a nd p r o v i d e inf orma ti on wi th ou t b ei ng as k ed , not on l y do you i n sti l l c o nf i d enc e a n d tru st, you k e e p th e p r o c es s mov i n g a t a good p ac e.
It d oes n’t ta k e mu c h to th ink ahead, b ut the more p roa c ti ve y ou ar e, the m ore res p ec t y ou ’ll rec ei vein r etur n.
4 KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.
T h ink a b ou t h ow th e i n di v i du al s you’ re t a l k i ng t o w i l l res p on d to you r me ssa ge w h e n y ou d e l i v er i t. Pu t you rs el f in t he ir sh oe s a nd dev el op em p ath y. Y our t one a nd c h oi c e of l an gu age h ere s h ould t he n m atc h th e au di en c e.
U n d e r s t a n d pers on a l i ty , res p ons i bi lity, even t h e K P I’ s (a nd therefore the moti vatio n) y o u r cl i e n t ha s - then defi ne w ha t, when, w h e r e , a nd how to c ommu ni c ate. M a y b e e ven the ‘w ho’ a s w el l. Ar e yo u t e ll i n g the ri g ht p ers on ?
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TALK TO YOUR CLIENT. I f yo ur co mmunication is an impor t a nt one , d e l iv e r i t f a ce to f ace or over th e phone. E m a il is a s upport m echa n i sm only, and should never be us e d t o bre a k news. W he n you are talking to the m , t a l k t o t he m a s a p er so n (cut the b usiness b ul l sh#t ) . Fe e d ba c k i s i mp o r ta nt too - your client can’ t im prov e if t he y do n’ t k n o w w h at th ey’re d oing w e l l , a nd wha t t he y need to improve on .
Be honest with your client. You will be better respected when you are transparent about everything from commercials and timescales, to feedback and considered recommendations. Maybe even the ‘who’ as well. Are you telling the right person?
6 UNDERSTAND SPHERE OF INFLUENCE. Kno w the i mpact of your actions, and t hink a b o ut the bi gger picture - alw ays putt ing y o u r self i n your client’s sh oes. Th ink a bout t h e wi der i m pact w h en you d eliver lat e , m ov e t h e go a lp o st s, or miss that conference c a l l y o u p r o mi sed to make. M ost importan t l y , t h i n k a bo u t h ow you make your client f e e l when yo u let th em dow n like th at. Pers ona l l y a s well a s p r o fessionally.
6 W i t h wo rd of mouth as your ampl if ie r, yo u ca n be sure that w hen you mak e y our cli en t smi l e, you’ll earn a good rep ut a t ion tha t r ea che s mayb e 5 or 1 0 people in t he ir sp her e o f influence. M ake th em loo k g ood a n d you’ll b e w ell rew ard ed .
7 COMMIT TO DECISIONS.
D ef i n e s u c c es s an d s et t he pa ra me t e rs ri gh t at s tart of you r proce ss. D on ’t w ri te a bri ef you don’ t be lie ve i n . M ake i n f orm ed decisions (not op i n i on ated on es ), a nd put cla rit y a t t he h eart of ev ery dec i s i o n you ma ke .
The g rea t thi ng a bou t r elatio nships is tha t know l edg e a nd trust can be used to i n flu en c e dec i s i on s . R ather than waiting fo r thi n g s to ha p p en , y ou can co mm it to yo ur dec i s i on s a n d then w or k to gether to ensur e y ou p rove the dec i s i on r ight.
8 M A NA GE E X P E C TAT IO N S . No-one likes surprises. Give your client regular updates, keep them in the loop, and abolish assumptions. For every problem there is a solution. But if your client is going to have any chance of overcoming issues they need time to plan. And that means having the relevant information and support from you.
Swap “close of play” with “17:00”, “mid morning” with “10:30” and “ASAP” with “2:00pm”. And remember - success is 90% preparation, so don’t underestimate the importance of good planning.
DELIVER. SURPRISE. D E L I G H T.
9 E v er yone l ikes s u r pr is es , so going o ve r a nd a bove expecta tion is a great w ay to bu il d a good r epu ta tion. Don’t lo se focu s on the m a in deliv erable thou gh - you m u s t del iver f irst; s u r pr is e s econd.
M a k e a p r o m i s e : do w h a t y o u s aid y o u were g oi n g t o do , w h e n y o u s a i d y o u were go in g t o do i t . Ge t a r e p ut a t i o n f o r deliverin g o n you r p r o m i s e s , w h i c h i n t ur n g ives y o u the c o nf i de n c e t o m a k e t h e m i n t h e first pla ce.
10 E M BRACE CH ANGE.
T h e b e st wa y to a chieve br il l ia nt re sult s is to keep evol ving the so lut i o n t o m a ke it better a nd b etter. T h i s me an s you need to be dis pos able w i t h yo ur idea s , a nd wel com e your cli ent a s co-cr ea tor s .
D e v e l o p a bs ol u te c l a ri ty on w hat co n s t i t u t e s y ou r a rea of exp erti se. T h e n co n s i der a n d fu lly u n ders tand e x a ct l y where y ou r c l i en t’s exp ertise l i e s t o o . Tru s t thei r j u dgemen t.
INVEST IN YOUR CLIENT. If you’re g o i n g t o e mpa this e with you r cl ient, yo u fir st n e e d t o know how they wor k, a nd respect th at . T h i s mea ns u nder s ta nding them o n two le ve ls: bu s ines s a nd individu a l .
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You a l s o need to understand the cha l l enges they f ac e. P eo p le lik e t o b e en ga ge d , s o ta k e a n inte r e s t in yo u r c lien t an d s o c ia lis e w ith th e m. Re me mb e r , ev en t h e b es t p art n e r s h ips ne e d w or k .
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B E THER E FO R YO UR CLI E NT.
A t a b as ic l e ve l , yo u r c l ient needs t o k n o w t h e y c an ge t h o l d of you. I f t h e y c an ’t , t h e y n e e d t o kn ow that you r e s p e c t t h e m e n o u gh t o get back to t h e m in a re al is t ic t ime frame (if only t o man age t h e ir e x p e c t at ions). More i m p o rt an t l y t h an t h at , b e ing there for y ou r c l ie n t me an s t h e y know you’ve g ot t h e ir b ac k. Y o u h ave to tr ust in e a c h o t h e r. Y o u r re p u t at io n is in their h a n ds an d t h e ir re p u t at io n is in your s.
Ev e ry c ha p ter ha s i ts c ha l lenges. I t’ s
h o w y ou g et throu g h thos e challenges t o g ether tha t defi nes the s tre ngth o f the
r e l a t i on s hi p . W hen thi ng s go wr o ng, y o u r role i s to s tep i n a nd help, no t
watch your client drown or point blame.
13 MA K E YOU R CLIE N T H APPY.
Ma king you r cl ient s m il e is one of t he m os t im por ta nt com ponents o f a s u cces s fu l r el a tions hip. You sh ou l dn’t ha ve to m otiva te them to w o rk wel l with you . Bu t wouldn’t it be nice if you did?
When y ou r c l i en t w i ns , yo u win. W h e n y ou w i n, y ou r c li en t wins. Ask y o u r s el f thi s qu es ti on every evening d i d I do s omethi n g to ma k e m y client ha p p y toda y ?
OUR PHILOSOPHY
We b e l i e v e T ru t h is a c a t a lys t for a u t h e ntic ideas, po werf ul i d e a s t h a t w ill be belie ved , e mbra c ed and advo cated by p e o pl e i n their e veryd a y lives . A n d t hese ideas are able to d r i v e po s it ive c ha n ge in a bra n d ’s relatio nships with its c on s u me rs a n d it s emp loy ees.